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Monday, June 01, 2015

Ben Lively Check-In

Last winter, the Reds traded Ben Lively to the Phillies last season after a ridiculous-good year in the minors (and reservations from scouts). This year, they started him again at AA (he'd only logged 72 innings there in 2014), and he's off to a solidish start. His strikeout rate is down, but so-too is his walk rate compared to last year in Pensacola:

Time will tell if he is able to survive in the major leagues. I don't have any ill will toward the guy, but it is a little...gratifying?...to see him struggle a little bit. It is consistent with the scouting reports on him as a good example of a polished college pitcher dominating lower ranks of the minor leagues with command and pitchability, but with stuff that won't play as well at the higher levels. That's why the Reds traded him; his value, they thought, was never going to be higher.